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After the last seven years, it is noteworthy when our President and First Lady show compassion and care for the American people, and even the country herself. So today I want to share First Lady Dr. Jill Biden’s theme for the White House holidays: We the People.
Today, First Lady Jill Biden announced the theme for the 2022 White House Holiday Season: We the People. The East Room was filled with 150 volunteers and many National Guard families.
It was packed. All were standing, according to the White House pool report sent to PoliticusUSA. Festive music was playing and the room was decorated for the holidays with (fake) snow-covered trees. The East Room is dedicated to nature, celebrating four national parks: The Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, the Great Smoky Mountains, and Shenandoah National Park.
“As our country gathers for the holidays, traditions may vary, but our shared American values—a belief in possibility, optimism, and unity—endure season after season. For this year’s holidays at the White House, we hope to capture the spirit embodied in the very idea of America: We the People.
“We the People. These words are the foundation of our extraordinary country and the Soul of our Nation. At the holidays, Americans come together each year in fellowship and faith, reminding us that we are stronger in community than we are apart. Each room and design element throughout the White House holiday décor represents what brings us together during the holidays and throughout the year.
During your visit to the People’s House, through rooms full of history and holiday décor, in the mirrored ornaments and reflective lights, our hope is that you feel at home and find yourself in the great story of America. May the promise of We the People light our path forward into the New Year and bring us together always,” the President and First Lady wrote in a welcome letter at the beginning of the commemorative 2022 White House Holiday Guide, sent to PoliticusUSA.
The White House expects to welcome approximately 50,000 visitors during the holiday season. Details will also be available on WhiteHouse.gov/Holidays.
They sent along a list of each room, themes include: Kindness & Gratitude, Words & Stories, Honor & Remembrance, Nature & Recreation, Sounds & Songs, Unity & Hope, Faith & Light, We the Children, Food & Traditions and more.
… We’ve come a very long way from Melania Trump’s “Who gives a f*ck about Christmas stuff and decoration?"
In related news, after Trump’s dinner with a Holocaust-denying white supremacist, the Republican Party played the same defense-through-silence game that worked so well during the Horrible Years. It worked for them, it worked for their base, it worked for Trump, it worked for the media.
Everyone, except for people concerned with decency, was happy.
Some in the media are catching on. CNN's Don Lemon pushed Trump's former Deputy Asst. Sec. of State to admit that Trump should not have had dinner with white supremacists and anti-Semites Kanye West and Nick Fuentes. Wait for the end, when finally, at long last, we get a definitive answer (note to media: It can be done!):
It’s easy to stand up to Donald Trump now that he’s wounded, with the midterms showing that he doesn’t have the power he says he has. It’s good that the media is finally trying to hold Trump enablers accountable, but the media also needs to hold people who currently have power accountable. The Republican Party is not getting better because they don’t pay a price for this kind of behavior and every time the individual gets busted, the Republican Party just recycles a new leader of hate, as we saw with Sarah Palin to now Donald Trump. The ideas don’t change - just the face.
Speaking of this kind of far-Right wing, anti-democracy person, Elon Musk spent the last 24 hours posting white nationalist memes and a photo of his alleged bedside, including what appears to be a toy video game gun and several cans of caffeine-free Diet Coke. So, his Twitter acquisition is… going as well as expected. He is rapidly devolving into a sad troll. He’s looking for a lot of approval and worship from the far-Right and he is getting it. I’m not sure what that does for his global reputation, however.
My prevailing thought today is gratitude for a President and First Lady who are decent and responsible role models and a growing concern that our government allowed - and the Republican base supported - people who engaged in an attempted seditious coup to run for re-election and even new offices.
We are a nation that was unprepared for the rather blundering and incompetent assault of dictator-loving Donald Trump and is far less prepared for the assault of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán protégés like Republican Florida Governor and presidential seeming hopeful Ron DeSantis.
Vigilance is always necessary to preserve democracy, but look at what You just did in the midterms. The People are powerful when they use their voices.
What do the First Lady’s decency and authoritarian attempts to take over our democracy have in common, you’re probably asking yourself?
Actually, a lot. One of the best ways to fight off a fascist attack is to show The People that the government is working and can do important things for their lives. Every time Democrats manage to pass another piece of legislation that is meant to help people, it is also serving as an attack on encroaching autocracy.
A government that is headed by people like the Bidens is one of the best defenses we could possibly have right now. They know what we are up against, and they are doing their best to unite those capable of uniting.
This is Sarah Jones with PoliticusPod for PoliticusUSA’s The Daily newsletter. Please consider subscribing if you are interested in hearing more from us and thank you to all who help us keep the doors open for all at PoliticusUSA.
Thank you for joining me today, I look forward to talking with you next time.
We the People: First Lady Jill Biden's Holiday Theme And The Defense Of Democracy